NEW FAIRFIELD -- Authorities have found that popular elementary school teacher Jeffrey Giuliano believed he was in imminent danger when he fatally shot a would-be intruder he later learned was his 15-year-old son.

A report released Friday by Danbury State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky found because "Giuliano's use of deadly force was justified," no criminal charges will be filed in Tyler Giuliano's death.

New Haven attorney Gene Zingaro, who represents Giuliano, said his client was relieved by the prosecutor's decision.

"It's an outcome we've always expected," Zingaro said. "He copes with this daily with the belief that he was acting legally and morally in a justified manner. It gives him some solace, but it will never bring back his son."

Read the report

Giuliano, who has a background in personal and corporate security, had a permit to carry a gun and was "a responsible gun owner," according to his attorney.

The shooting unfolded during the early morning hours of Sept. 27, 2012, when Giuliano, a teacher at Meeting House Hill School, got a call from his sister, who lived next door, that someone was trying to break into her house.

Giuliano, according to police reports, took his handgun out of his safe, went outside, and saw man dressed in black and wearing a black ski mask trying to get into the front door of his sister's house.

Giuliano confronted the would-be intruder in the driveway, and the masked assailant began to advance towards him with a metal object in his hand, according to the report released Friday.

The lighting was too dim for Giuliano to determine if the object was a knife or a gun, the report states, but it was later found to be a knife.

The report also noted that Tyler kept advancing towards his father after the elder Giuliano instructed the teenager to "freeze" and to "drop it."

Jeffrey Giuliano "was well within reach of a potential bullet strike if the subject had been armed with a gun and fired at him."

While Friday's report provides additional details about the morning of the shooting, little evidence has emerged about why Tyler was attempting to break into his aunt's house.

The report notes only that Tyler was carrying a roll of Duct Tape under his arm.

"It is certainly troubling that Tyler was carrying a roll of Duct Tape and a knife while he was trying to break into a woman's home," Zingaro said. "And while that could lead to all sorts of speculation, I don't want to go any further than that right now."

The attorney said it is also important to note that Sedensky stated in his report that a man wearing a black ski mask while holding a knife "is consistent with someone about to engage in illegal activity."

Zingaro said while the opinion of the state's attorney is credible, "any speculation as to what Tyler's intentions were that night is just that, speculation."

He added that there was no rift between Tyler and his aunt or any other family member.

Friends of Tyler Giuliano have painted a picture of a mild-mannered teenager who loved flying and who, like many young people his age, was only beginning to find himself.

They say that while he had an unsettled childhood, he never had a predilection for violence.

Giuliano had adopted Tyler and his older sister about five years prior to the shooting, Zingaro said.

"(Tyler) was living in a troubled home situation. He didn't have a lot of adult supervision, he didn't have a lot of guidance or moral support, and he started spending time with the Giulianos on an almost daily basis," Zingaro said.

He noted that when the state attempted to take custody of Tyler and his sister, Giuliano agreed to take in the children as a foster parent and the situation eventually led to a legalized adoption.

"Giuliano is doing the best he can coping with the situation," Zingaro said. "He responded to cries of help and believed his life was in danger."